


Be My Other Half

by agentwinchester



Category: CW Network RPF, Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, F/M, Harems, J-Squared, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-27
Updated: 2015-03-26
Packaged: 2018-03-15 10:55:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3444506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentwinchester/pseuds/agentwinchester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared has dreamt up every aspect of his perfect soulmate. Jensen has never believed in soulmates. But fate still seems to think they’re a perfect match.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. We Wanted Different Things

**Author's Note:**

> Supernatural AU.  
> At the age of 7, children are given the LEC – Lifetime Exam of Commitment – or as the kids call it, the Soulmate Challenge. This test determines whether you have a soulmate currently walking the earth. If you have a soulmate you are considered a Semisos, which translates to “half” as in half of a soul. If you do not have a soulmate, you become a Pallaca, which translates to “mistress” though they are usually treated as other wives/husbands, and for many Semisos who don’t find their soulmate, a Pallaca will usually take a larger role in the household. A Semisos has the choice to take as many Pallacas as they can afford or they can live alone until they find their mate. A Pallaca may choose to find a Semisos to bond to, or they can live alone for the rest of their lives. People, both Semisos and Pallaca, who choose to live alone, are often looked down upon in society.

The sun was shining brightly off the mountains, reflecting bright rays onto the snow that lay tightly compacted on the ground. The white frost clung beautifully to the trees, animating the otherwise lifeless branches. The wind was nonexistent, allowing the young children to joyfully play in the winter air without the painful aftershock of whiplash. It was a beautiful day and Jared would have loved nothing more than to enjoy it. Unfortunately, he was trapped in a car with his father.

“Lady McCoy has sent me another letter. That makes five in the past three days!” Gerald Padalecki exclaimed, gripping the steering wheel tight in frustration. “What am I supposed to do, Jared?”

Jared sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window, pointedly ignoring his father.

“Sandra comes from a wealthy, well respected family, as does Genevieve and as does Adrianne. What do you expect me to tell them?” his father demanded

“I don’t know!” Jared burst “Tell them the truth. I don’t want a wife! I want a mate!”

“Yes, because that would go over so well! I apologize Lady McCoy, but my son thinks himself above marrying your daughter because she isn’t a Semisos!”

“It isn’t that she’s not a Semisos!” Jared pleaded. His father never understood. “It’s that she isn’t MY Semisos.”

Gerald sighed in resignation. His son never understood. “I understand you wanting your soulmate. All Semisos want to find their soulmates! It’s in their nature. But you’re 22 years old, Jared. You’re young, and it takes years to find your other half. I didn’t meet your mother till I was 35! And I got my first wife when I was 20!”

“Yeah, and you had to go and get three more.” Jared muttered bitterly, resentful of the women in his father’s life that weren’t his mother.

“Yes, Jared, you’re right. I did. I have four wives and I love them all.” Gerald proclaimed. “But I also have your mother. My soulmate, the love of my life, the person I care most about in the world.”

“Then why did you need the damn Pallacas?” Jared bit out angrily.

“Because, Jared!” Gerald insisted “Pallacas don’t have that luxury. They won’t ever know the beauty of having a soulmate. If Pallacas didn’t marry Semisos, who would they marry?”

“Each other, maybe?” Jared wondered defiantly

“Jared!” his father gasp out in horror

“What?” Jared defended, though he knew the dangers of speaking such things. “It is a good point and you know it!”

“Whether it is a good point or not is a useless concept.” Gerald dismissed. “The Court decreed that Pallacas, those unfortunate enough to not possess a soulmate like we do, are to marry Semisos, those who are waiting for their other half. ‘So the Court has decreed, and thus that is how we proceed.’ Repeat it to me, Jared.”

“So the Court has decreed, and thus that is how we proceed.” He mumbled monotone.

“And by denying those poor mate less Pallacas from marrying you, a wealthy, entitled, and fortunate male Semisos, you go against everything our society stands for!”

Just as his rant was over, the car pulled into the Padalecki Mansion. The house was huge, to Jared’s view, perhaps not as large as some of the bigger families, like the Collins or Day. But in his opinion, his house was much too large, even for 8 people.

Jared stayed quiet as he followed his head of house into the Mansion. To his shock, as he walked through the door, he heard silence.

“This is a bad sign.” His father said, dropping the car keys into the bowl by the door. “Where is everyone?” Jared asked, taking off his coat as he entered the front hall. He had been gone for three weeks, and had been expecting a big welcome.

“What is today’s date?” Gerald asked

“Thursday the 11th.” Jared answered; the day he would arrive home had been seared inside his head.

“Ahhh…” he exclaimed, an amused expression on his face. “It’s a Thursday. That explains it.”

“What explains it?” Jared asked, lost on his father’s train of thought.

“Your sister has hooked the women of the house onto new favorite pass time.” Gerald said dismissively, before walking into the dining room and saying one last parting shot. “Perhaps next week you should join them. You might learn a thing or two about how society actually runs.”

Confused on what his father meant, but unwilling to ask for fear of another argument over his marital status, Jared dragged his suitcase up the stairs and down the long hallway to his room. After the long trek to his humble room, Jared opened his door and promptly fell onto his bed, face first, burying his face into his pillow. As he happily sighed at lying in his own bed after so long, he turned on his side and screamed.

Bolting up in his bed quickly, Jared was still making jumping motions when he heard uncontrollable laughter coming from the seat by his desk.

“Jeff?” Jared asked incredulously

His older brother gasped to control his breathing as he nodded gleefully. “Oh my God, Jared. I wasn’t even trying to hide. You just walked right in! You didn’t notice me.”

Jared angrily threw a pillow at his brother. “You suck.”

“It’s not my fault!” Jeff cried, wiping tears from his eyes.

“Whatever.” Jared mumbled, giving his brother a small smile realizing that it had been a bit funny.

“So,” Jeff started, turning the chair to face his little brother. “How was camp?”

“It wasn’t camp.” Jared said, blushing. It kind of was.

“Oh right,” Jeff nodded. “It was just a three week seminar where everyone slept on bunk beds in cabins. In the middle of nowhere.”

“Hey!” Jared defended “Bunk beds are cool.”

Jeff snorted, though his inner child enthusiastically agreed.

“It was awful.” Jared groaned, trying to push back all the horrible memories. “It was a camp to learn how to run a successful household. I don’t want Pallacas, so I’ll have to do all the work around the house myself when I find my mate. But everyone there was a Pallaca! I was the only Semisos!”

“Dude, you knew that going in.”

“Yeah,” Jared agreed “But I didn’t think it was going to be so… prejudice! They all treated me like I was dirt when they found out I didn’t want any Pallacas.”

“Well, it’s not exactly socially accepted to not have any.” Jeff pointed out.

“I know.” And he did. It’s not like every person he had ever met hadn’t told him so.

“Have you ever wondered what you’d do if your mate had Pallacas?” Jeff asked, it was something he had always wondered about his brother.

“They’ll be my soulmate.” Jared said, as if that explained everything. “They’re my other half, Jeff. That’s what Semisos means ‘other half’. They won’t have any Pallacas.”

“And if they do?” Jeff pressed

“Well…” Jared paused, as if he had never really considered the possibility. “Whoever they are… They’ll love me. If they have a Pallaca or two… they’ll get divorced, because they love me.”

Jared had always been naïve to how the world worked. Jeff wouldn’t dare tell his little brother, especially right now, but he doubted it would be that simple.

“So what are you doing back?” Jared asked, settling his back against the headrest of his bed. “How’s Layla?”

Layla was his brother’s second Pallaca. His first, Jamie, he had gotten a few years back.

“She’s good. She’s hung up over repainting the entire house and Jamie’s having one hell of a job keeping her away from the library.” Jeff said, laughing as his wives’ antics. “And mom called me back home. She said she couldn’t be away from both her sons for so long. She lasted a week before demanding I come visit and she hasn’t let me leave the house since.”

Jared laughed at his brother’s story. “Where is she anyway? On that note, where is everyone? Dad said something about a ‘new favorite pass time’”.

It took Jeff a moment to realize what his brother was talking about before he burst out laughing. “Oh, Jared, it’s the best thing!”

“What is?” Jared asked, puzzled at his joyful expression.

"They’re obsessed!” Jeff cheered “Okay so you know how Megan is obsessed with that new celebrity watch show? The one where they report on different famous people and their personal lives?”

Jared nodded; he remembered when she first got into it a few years back and had thought her fan girlishness cute, but the show stupid.

“And you remember how depressed she was when she found out she was a Pallaca?”

Jared nodded again. God knows the whole family had a period of darkness when the first Pallaca in generations appeared in the Padalecki bloodline.

“Well the moodiness is gone now, and it’s all thanks to that show.”

Jared gaped. “Seriously? Are you sure we’re talking about the same show?”

“Oh yeah!” Jeff furiously nodded.

“What changed?”

“Jensen Ackles.”

“Who?”

Jared had heard of the Ackles family. Who hadn’t? The Ackles were the richest family on the Western seaboard. But last he had heard, the family died out over 20 years ago when the last Head of House, Alan Ackles, died from a heart attack.

“Jensen Ackles, the new Head of Ackles House! Dude, the tabloids are going nuts with titles, the “Unknown Heir”, the “Lost Boy of Fortune”, the “Wicked Hunk of the West Coast”. They won’t shut up! The girls are obsessed, even mom! It’s what they do every week now – Monday, Wednesday, Thursday – sit down in the parlor and watch reporters go on and on about how green Jensen’s eyes are.”

“Wow!” Jared said shocked that all of the women in the house could agree on something. “What makes him so interesting?”

“He’s a Semisos…” Jeff began

“So?” Jared asked

“With fourteen Pallacas.”

“Holy shit!” Jared gasped. The average Semisos had two, maybe three Pallacas. His own father was above the norm with four. Semisos were technically allowed as many Pallacas as they could support, but even six, let alone fourteen, was unheard of!

“Oh yeah. He got his first two when he was sixteen, two when he was seventeen, two more the next year, and then graciously slowed down to one each year since on his birthday. It’s his twenty sixth birthday today, and I was walking up past the parlor when they were announcing his newest wife. She’s not from around here apparently; they met through one of his other wives.”

“I can’t believe the Court is allowing that!” Jared breathed

“He is the Court.” Jeff told him.

“What do you mean?”

“All that wives crap?” Jeff explained “It’s not just for show. Megan desperately wants to be his next wife, but she’s sorely out of luck. Ackles only takes his girls from the richest, highest class of society. The Ackles family themselves have a seat on the Court, and out of the fourteen families he’s married into, eight of them have seats. That’s nine of the thirteen Noble families.”

“That’s impossible! I didn’t even know that many Court families had Pallacas this generation!” Jared cried in disbelief

“The families were trying to keep it under wraps. This whole thing has been going on for years. The media only got ahold of it a few weeks ago.” Jeff said loudly, before realizing how passionate he seemed to be getting and calmed down. “Hey, maybe you should rethink marrying Sandy since she’s one of the four families left not under his control.”

Jared snorted, ignoring Jeff’s last comment. Nothing could make him marry a Pallaca. “And he hasn't made any move towards finding his soulmate?”

“None whatsoever.” Jeff stopped to consider it. “Actually, now that you mention it, that is a little weird. He doesn't seem interested in finding his mate at all.”

Silence fell in the room, both Padalecki men wondering why anyone wouldn't want to find their soulmate.

* * *

* * *

* * *

“Jensen!” a loud squeal echoed across the manor as a man walked through the large front doors and stood in front of the long staircase in time to catch the beautiful woman who was sliding down the banister of the stairs.

She landed giggling into his arms, throwing her arms around the grinning man’s neck.

“Now, what is my beautiful, sophisticated wife doing, sliding down railings?” The man teased.

“Why, she was waiting for her gorgeous husband to get home.” The woman cheekily replied before pressing her lips to his.

Their passionate make out session was interrupted by a loud cough, “Ahhum!”

Both turned to look under the archway at the woman who was glaring at them.

“It’s rude to hog our husband all to yourself, Alona.” She lectured.

“Oh, Cindy!” Jensen cooed, moving from Alona’s side to wrap his arms around his second wife and leaned in to kiss her. “I missed you too.”

As he broke away from the kiss, he felt Alona slide into the open space at his right, while Cindy instinctually fell into the space at his left. It had been their position for ten years now. Alona had been his very first wife, Cindy following only a few days later. Jensen cared about all of his wives, many of them had a claim on his heart, but those two… Jensen truly loved.

“So… where is everyone else?” Jensen asked, guiding the two ladies down the main hallway that led to the back of the house.

Like he expected, Cindy immediately jumped on the chance to prove her outstanding social and secretarial abilities by explaining to Jensen exactly what each of his wives were doing, in the exact order that he married them. Old habits die hard, and Cindy was nothing if not predictable.

“Well, Julie and Katie are doing combat training in the gym. They’re both training for their black belt, but according to Katie, Julie’s nowhere close to ready yet. Lauren and Michelle are out shopping downtown for evening gowns, and I really hope Lauren remembers to pick up the Heaven Original I got fitted for last week.”

“Oh yeah, Michelle’s supposed to get my Hell’s Maker.” Alona cut in, remarking on the black and red ball gown she had picked out.“Lindsey and Amy are down at Court, getting ready for the Court meeting this Saturday. Lindsey tried to convince Amy to stay behind, because you know how non Noble members are treated, but Amy wanted to see what we do. I don’t think she’s going to like it very much though. Amy was so not cut out for Court. She should join Julie and Katie. She’s more of a fighter than a debater. Megalyn and Erin are taking the horses for a run around the property. Susie and Sara called a few hours ago. They made it to the top of the mountain and found the perfect spot for star gazing. Sara said they should be back around lunch tomorrow.”

Jensen nodded. He wasn’t surprised that his wives did things in twos. Ever since he had first married Alona and Cindy, his wives had paired up.

“Oh!” Cindy exclaimed “Candice and Nina are around here somewhere. Candice is giving her the grand tour of the Estate, while trying to avoid your mother.”

“Why is she avoiding my mother?” Jensen asked, “I thought she and Candice got along great.”

Alona and Cindy burst out laughing.

“You’re kidding, right?” Alona questioned, “You have to know your mother hates Candice. She hates Candice even more than she hates Sara.”

Cindy nodded enthusiastically. “And your mother once put a rattlesnake in Sara’s shower.”

“She did what?!” Jensen cried in disbelief. “Why have I never been told this?”

“Sara asked us not to tell you. You’d only make it worse.” Cindy told him

“But Sara’s miles away in the mountains right now.” Alona explained. “And with Nina in the house, you have to talk to your mother.”

“What does this have to do with Nina?” Jensen asked confused

“It’s a pattern, honey.” Alona started to explain. “Your mother may have married into this life, but she’s one of the most disapproving, snobbish…”

“…self-entitled, prejudice nobles, we’ve ever met.” Cindy finished “She hates foreigners.”

“Sara and Candice aren’t foreigners!” Jensen exclaimed

“No,” Alona conceded “But they’re not from around here. You met Sara on a long distance business trip, and Candice on an out of state social event.”

“Sara and Candice were bad enough in her eyes. We’d hate to see what she’ll do once she gets ahold of Nina.”

Jensen took a moment to think over what his favorite wives were telling him.

“I’ll look into it.” Jensen promised, as he opened the glass doors that led to the back of the estate. “Now let’s think of happier things and enjoy the fresh air before we are interrupted.”

The Ackles Estate was large. No, it was bigger than large. It was huge, giant! Complete with stables, pools, pavilions, lakes, gardens, and a multitude of other unnecessary, though fun activities, the “backyard” was Jensen’s favorite part of his house.

Jensen laughed as he chased his wives through the gardens. Alona was in the lead, the tiny little bugger that she was, though Cindy was hot on her tail. Jensen grabbed Cindy around her waist and kept running, spinning her around in circles until he felt dizzy. Continuing across the grounds, they stopped at the nearest lake and opened the box under the largest tree, pulling out three pairs of ice skates. In the summer, the pool was a favorite place for all of Jensen’s family, but in the winter, when the lakes were frozen over and thick with ice, ice skating was a fantastic pass time.

They had a great time ice skating on the lake, or in Jensen’s case, attempting to ice skate. They laughed until their sides hurt, and fell until their buts hurt, yet they still kept going.

“I think it’s far enough into winter.” Jensen commented as he made a lap around the frozen lake. “What do you think about opening the ski slopes next week?”

The Ackles family owned a ski resort on the other side of the mountain, however there were five slopes that ran down this side of the mountain, directly onto the Ackles Estate, for their use only. There were perks to living on the foothills of a mountain.

Cindy squealed. “Yes! I can’t wait to try out my new pair of ski boots!”

“Maybe we can make a vacation out of it.” Alona suggested “We could stay up in the cabin halfway up the mountain. We haven’t been up there in a few years.”

“Oh please, Jensen!” Cindy begged “It’ll be so romantic!”

Jensen laughed. “Anything for my favorite wives.”

“I’d be careful with your words, Jensen.” A new voice called from off the ice. “Some are not as impartial as I.”

Jensen squinted his eyes to make out the figure of person talking to him, though this was unnecessary considering he knew his childhood friend’s voice by heart.

“Misha!” Jensen called out to his friend across the lake. “Come on! Grab a pair of skates! Join us!”

“I haven’t the time,” Misha shouted back “but I must speak with you!”

Jensen skated over to Misha, Alona and Cindy on his heels.

“Lady Tal. Lady Sampson.” Misha greeted them with a respected full bow of the head.

“Shut up, Misha!” Cindy teased “You mustn’t be so formal.”

“You don’t see us calling you Lord Collins.” Alona added

“Of course, my ladies.” Misha smirked, causing the women to roll their eyes. “I’m afraid I must steal your husband for a moment.”

“Course.” They echoed, waving to Misha and kissing Jensen on the cheek before leaving again to skate.

“I always find it weird when you speak to them so formally.” Jensen told him as he carefully got off the ice, and began to take off his skates. “I mean, you’ve known them both longer than I have.”

“But it is so amusing to see them riled up.” Misha grinned, causing Jensen to smile back.

“So,” Jensen began, walking in line with his friend away from the lake and back into the frost covered gardens. “What is so important?”

“I wanted you to be the first to know.” Misha said, giving him a shy smile. “I found her.”

Jensen was lost for a moment. “Who?”

“Her. The one.” Misha repeated, a grin slowly forming on his face. “I found the one.”

Jensen’s face went blank, so Misha couldn’t tell his reaction. “Your mate.”

“I found my soulmate, Jensen.” Misha exclaimed happily

Between Jensen’s roaring emotions, his face finally settled on joy.

“That’s great, man!” Jensen cheered “How is it?”

“Oh Jensen, it’s amazing. Finding the person I was meant to be with. Finding my own Semisos? I can’t believe how I lived without this feeling before. I mean, I love my Pallacas. But, my mate is so much more.”

“How’d you meet?” Jensen asked

“I walked into this new bar downtown, Devil’s Gate.” Misha explained. “I was completely lost and tried to ask for directions. And there she was, just perched on top of the bar like she owned the place. Of course we glowed when we touched, so we are positive we’re mates, but Jensen I knew the moment I saw her she was mine.”

“That’s sweet.” Jensen said, pushing the memory of his father’s last words far out of his mind. “What color did you glow?”

Misha blushed. “Blue.”

Jensen whistled. “That’s one powerful bond.”

“I know.” Misha agreed, his grin getting bigger if that was possible.

A Semisos knows they have found their mate when a glow is emitted when they touch. The strength of a Semisos’ bond with their mate was determined by the color that the glow illuminated. The weakest was black which then led to red, orange, brown, green, blue, white, and finally the perfect soulbond shade of gold and silver entwining with each other. But the swirled combination of gold and silver was extremely rare, perhaps once a generation, if less. Those who claim to have witnessed the first colors of such a bonding said it was a magical sight to behold. Still, blue was an impressive color bond considering the average couple glowed brown.

“Well congratulations.” Jensen smiled, “When do I get to meet the lucky girl?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Misha explained “My mate, though Semisos, has surrounded herself with many Pallaca friends, so she has asked to have a traditional Pallaca wedding in addition to a Semisos Bonding Ceremony. And I was wondering if you would be my best man.”

“Of course!” Jensen said, pleased though not exactly surprised. He had been the best man at Misha’s first two Pallaca weddings with Erica and Wynn. Though it was a bit odd for Semisos to have a Pallaca wedding, it wasn’t unheard of.

The two men, who both had much on their mind, kept walking, admiring the elegance of the glistening dead plants.

“I wish you would at least try.” Misha sighed, already knowing Jensen would understand what he meant.

Jensen tried to control his deep sigh and annoyed eye roll, though he did neither successfully. He had known this subject would be brought up. It always was at some point or another.

“I don’t want to try, Misha. We’ve been over this for almost 20 years now!” Jensen pleaded for his friend to let it drop. Though he logically knew that his friend was only trying to help, Jensen was sick and tired of his friends and family all harping on this one detail of his perfect life.

“But if you would just acknowledge it, Jensen. Please!” Misha begged. “It’s such an amazing feeling. I just want you to have what I do.”

“I’m happy for you, Misha. I am.” Jensen began, as if for the millionth time. “But I like my life. I love my life. I don’t want what you have. I don’t want to pine over my so called ‘other half’ for the rest of my life. I’m happy the way things are now and I won’t ruin it by letting the mere possibility of some random person I’ve never even met before, maybe be the one person who can ‘make me whole’, when my life is perfect just the way it is.”

“I know you don’t want to end up like your father, Jensen.” Misha told him, “And I know –“

“No!” Jensen cried, feeling the need to claw at his own hair in frustration. “You don’t know! I have no interest in finding my Semisos. I never have and I never will, and if I ever meet my Semisos, I’ll stay as far away from them as possible!”

And with that, Jensen spun on his heels, stalking back to the lake to spend time with his beautiful wives, leaving Misha to stare at his back in pity.

Jensen had always been incredibly aware of how the world functioned, but he was so naïve about how soulmates worked. Misha wouldn’t dare tell his friend, especially right now, but he doubted it would be that simple.


	2. Who's That?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jared wishes he could be anywhere else.  
> Jensen has no luck in life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~From now on I'll be listing the characters and their roles from each chapter at the bottom of the story in the notes.~

* * *

 “This is stupid.” Misha said as he looked solemnly at himself in the mirror. “Jensen, I look stupid.”

“You look fine.” Jensen dismissed him as he looked over at Misha fidgeting with his tie.

“No, I don’t!” Misha panicked “I look like a clown!”

“You do not look like a clown!” Jensen insisted, setting his hands on Misha’s shoulders to calm him down. “What has gotten into you?  You weren’t like this the last time.”

“This is different.” Misha explained “This is my soulmate.  It has to be perfect.  I have to look perfect.”

“You look great, man.”  Jensen rolled his eyes, pulling away to fix his own tux “You’ll blow her away.”

Misha nodded, trying to convince himself of Jensen’s words.

“Tell me again why you haven’t let me meet her?” Jensen pouted.  It had been a sore spot of his for weeks.  His wives had gotten to meet her a few days ago at her bachelorette party, but he had been denied the knowledge.  When he asked, all of his wives either avoided eye contact or walked away.

“Because…” Misha looked hesitant. “I just want it to be a surprise is all.”

Jensen sighed, but accepted the answer he had been given for weeks.

“Lord Collins?” an usher called through the door. “It’s time.”

“Oh my God, I’m going to be sick.” Misha gasped.

“No you won’t.” Jensen assured him, hitting him on the back and pushing him through the doorway.

It took about fifteen minutes, but for Misha and Jensen, it felt like hours, waiting for the bride to walk in, Misha because he was so nervous, and Jensen because this was his twenty fourth time waiting at the end of the aisle – including serving as best man and being the groom of his own wedding – and he could never be mistaken for a patient man.

Jensen smiled as he saw Alona and Cindy walk up the aisle, followed by Wynn and Erica – who was the Maid of Honor – before his eyes flickered to the woman in the white dress.

She was short and had black hair, but that was about all Jensen could tell about her from this distance.

Misha shifted on his feet, obviously very self-conscious around his new mate.

The mysterious woman stood stock still as Misha joyfully pulled the veil out of her face.

Jensen gaped.

As he stood there in shock over Misha’s new mate, he barely noticed his wives trading worrying looks for him from the front aisle.

Rachel Miner.  
Misha’s soulmate was Rachel Miner.  
How could Misha’s soulmate be Rachel Miner?

Misha fidgeted nervously as he noticed his friend’s reaction, prompting Rachel to snort in amusement at Jensen’s failed attempt to hide his fury.

Jensen barely noticed the rest of ceremony go by, unconsciously doing his role as best man without even realizing he was doing it.  Without Jensen even being aware of it, everyone had already moved on to the wedding reception. His head was still in a buzz when a hand touched his shoulder, making him jump.

“Jensen?” Candice asked with concern “Are you alright?”

Jensen pushed his anger back slightly to speak civilly speak with his wife. “No.  I am beyond furious that Misha would keep such a thing from me.”

“Would you have reacted any differently had he told you before?” Nina wondered from his other side.  It seemed the newest addition to his family had found her paired sister wife.

“No, but a little notice would have been nice.” Jensen muttered bitterly

“Well look what the cat dragged in.” a snide voice mocked from behind him. “Nice to see you again, Lost Boy. That is what the media is calling you now, right?”

“I wasn’t lost.” Jensen snapped at the infuriating bride of his best friend. “I was hiding.”

“Ah yes, Pellegrino had a bounty out on all the Ackles before he died, didn’t he?” Rachel mused “It’s a pity Alan died before anyone could reap the reward.”

Another body stepped in front of Jensen, preventing him from lunging at the arrogant woman.

“Fuck off, Miner.” A new female voice snarled.

“Now, Lady Day,” Rachel pouted “It that any way to talk to the new wife of your friend?”

“I don’t care how close you are to Misha,” the feisty redhead screeched “You’ll always be the same low class bitch, you’ve always been.”

“Felicia, please!”  Misha begged as he came up behind Rachel, wishing desperately for his friends to accept his new mate.

But deep inside, Misha knew it was a fruitless hope.  He had heard his friend’s stories about the Miner family, Mark Pellengrino’s right hand.  They did everything that was asked of them, no remorse, no hesitation.  Rachel herself had killed Felicia’s younger brother, Ryon. And Rachel’s now deceased brother, Peter – overdose – had killed Jensen’s older brother, Josh, on command and his younger sister, Mackenzie, before realizing that she was no threat to the fortune as she was not the eldest child.  Logically, Misha knew he should despise Rachel too, but for some reason he just couldn’t find it in him to hate his mate.

“Misha! You don’t know her like Jensen and I do!” Lady Felicia Day cried, begging her friend to understand how horrible his wife truly was. “You might have only met her a few weeks ago, but we’ve told you the stories!”

“And I’m truly sorry for my actions in the past.” Rachel replied sarcastically

“Argh!” Felicia growled, throwing herself at the smug brunette. Unfortunately she was stopped by Alona and Cindy grabbing her waist and pulling her unwillingly back.

“How does she even know about Jensen?” Nina asked Candice whispering, unfortunately Rachel still heard her.

“Oh please,” Rachel rolled her eyes “Everyone important knew about him: the Court, the underground, the lawyers, the tax collectors. The only people who didn’t know about Jensen was the general public and the media so fan girls didn’t get to squeal over the available Semisos untill a few weeks ago.  You know it’s actually amazing the media never found out about him.  He’s the most horribly well-kept secret I know… and I know a lot of horribly well-kept secrets.”

“Misha, I’m sorry.” Felicia apologized with a pained look on her face.  “But I should be going.”

“Felicia-“

“No, Misha!” Felicia cried. “I can’t believe you’re marrying this cow, and I can’t believe even more that you kept it from me.”

“Felicia, please!” Misha begged, he couldn’t stand it if his friends walked away right now.

“She’s right.” Jensen spit out “She killed our family. I think I’ll be going as well.”

Jensen and Felicia turned around to walk away when Misha tried to pull them back.

“Felicia… Jensen, wait!”

As Misha grabbed his arm, Jensen tried to shrug him off and ended tripping, knocking into one of the waiters, sending himself past a group of people and falling onto someone, causing them both to go flying to the floor.

The room gave a collective gasp as the area erupted into a warmth of gold and silver light.

* * *

* * *

“Jared you have to come!” the girl pleaded with him, getting on her knees to beg. “Please!”

Jared gave a small snort at her antics. “But the parties around here are so boring, especially the high class ones!  Give me one reason I should go with you.”

“Because I’m your best friend in the whole wide world?” she petitioned with her best puppy dog eyes

“Nice try, Adrianne.” Jared replied, tilting his head in amusement.

“Come on!  Help a girl out!” Jared’s best friend, Adrianne Palicki asked, standing up to sit next to him. “My friend said I have to bring a date.”

“Then ask some other Semisos.” Jared told her

“I can’t!” Adrianne explained “My mom has accepted us as friends, but my dad will kill me if it’s not you.”

Jared understood that.  All of his friend’s parents were obsessed with marrying them off.

“Please, Jared?” she begged

“I think it’s a wonderful idea.” Another voice added.

Adrianne and Jared’s heads whipped to the door of Jared’s room to see Jared’s mother, Sharon Padalecki, standing under the archway.

“Mother?” Jared asked, feeling betrayed.  Adrianne was his friend but it pained him to lead any of his friends on.

“Mrs. Cortese has written me a letter requesting you take Genevieve to the very same party.”  His mother began “I think it will do you well to escort Ms. Palicki and Ms. Cortese with you to this lovely social event.”

“But mother!” Jared pleaded; horrified that he would be wearing two women on his arm that were not his mate.

“That is final, Jared.” His mother warned “Your father and I have put up with enough of your anti-Pallaca attitude.  You will take these beautiful women to the dance and you shall be happy about it.”

Both Jared and Adrianna stared in shock at Sharon’s back as she retreated down the hall.

Jared groaned as he buried his head into his pillow.

“I’m so sorry, Jared!” Adrianne apologized “I should never have asked you to go with me, especially not at your house.”

“It’s not your fault.” He murmured. “She would have made me go with Cortese anyway.”

“Err…” Adrianne made a face which prompted Jared to laugh mirthlessly

“Yeah,” he snorted “At least you’ll be there.”

“Way to look on the bright side.” Adrianne congratulated “And she’s not that bad.”

“She’s mean!” Jared claimed

“You think all Pallacas trying to get your attention are mean!” Adrianne berated him “You dislike Gen and Sandy even though you’ve never actually tried to know them!  Hell, you hated me before you realized I didn’t really want to marry you.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Jared murmured, laying back on his bed in defeat.

“Cheer up!” she prompted “The party might be fun! You never know… maybe you’ll meet your soulmate.”

* * *

* * *

Jared’s heart sunk as he knocked on the adorned wooden door of the Cortese Mansion. With Adrianne by his side, who was glaring at him, challenging him to misbehave, he stood awkwardly waiting for his second date.  As if he would dare!  He might not like taking the two women to the party – even though he loved Adrianne, he didn’t see her that way – but he knew how much was riding on tonight. Social events of any kind in this town were important, like majorly important.  If he was seen as a strong, powerful Semisos who could hold his ground and charm his way through anything, people would get off his back, stop treating him like some ignorant fool who doesn’t understand how the world works.  He understands completely… he just doesn’t agree with it.

“Jared! Darling, how wonderful to see you!” Regina Cortese exclaimed, leaning forward and pressing her lips to each of Jared’s cheeks. “Oh, and Adrianne you look lovely.”

“Thank you Mrs. Cortese.” Adrianne replied respectfully, giving her a polite – though Jared knew, fake – smile.

“Genevieve!” Regina sang through the house, though as she received no answer she shrieked, “GENEVIEVIE!”

“I’m right here, mother.” Genevieve snapped, rubbing her ears as the last of her mother’s screaming had gone directly into her ear drums.

“Ah,” her mother blushed “Yes.”

“Jared.” Genevieve smiled coyly.  It was clear to everyone that Genevieve had a major thing for him… and she wasn’t shy about it.  It was one of the many reasons why Jared preferred Adrianne, and even Sandy, over the Cortese Pallaca.

“Genevieve.” Jared nodded politely, trying to hide his grimace.

“Hello, Gen.” Adrianne spoke up. She had made a decision before the evening began to try and keep the energy positive.

Genevieve sneered at her. “Anne.”

Keeping a positive energy might be harder than she first thought.  It was no secret that Adrianne despised being called Anne, and Genevieve also had no qualms making it clear that she wanted Jared to herself. Most pallacas were quite fond of the system, marrying a semisos, living with sister wives… but every once in a while you got a defective pallaca.  One who choose to not marry someone who couldn’t give them all of themselves.  Still just as rare, were the pallacas that wanted to marry a semisos but became insanely jealous at the thought of other pallacas or worse, a semisos, taking away what was “rightfully theirs”.

“Well,” Jared coughed, trying to fill the awkward silence “We should be going.”

“Of course.” Mrs. Cortese agreed, literally pushing her daughter out the door, shutting the heavy frames behind her so they would be forced to leave for the party.

“Okay then,” Jared said slowly, at a complete loss at what to do. “Shall we…”

“Let’s go.” Genevieve pronounced, wrapping her arm through his and dragging him towards the limo.

Shaking her head, Adrianne laughed as Genevieve practically sat on his lap, causing Jared to flush in a strange combination of embarrassment and anger.

This was going to be a really long day.

* * *

* * *

“I can’t see anything!” Adrianne whined from her seat on the uncomfortable wedding chairs. “Tell me what’s happening, Sasquatch.”

“I can’t see anything either.” Jared whispered back at her, ignoring the glare Genevieve was sending in their directions.

“We should have left earlier.” Adrianne commented, “Maybe then we could have gotten seats a little closer to the action.”

“Action?” Jared snorted in disbelief “It’s a wedding.”

“Yeah, but haven’t you heard the rumors?” she gossiped excitably “The bride and the best man hate each other. I would’ve loved to see the look on his face when she was unveiled!”

Jared smiled.  That certainly would have been a sight to see.  Although, it really sucked that he was sitting in the back of a wedding, when he didn’t even know whose wedding it was.

“Whose wedding is this anyway?” he asked, craning his neck to catch a glimpse of the couple.

“How do you not know?” Adrianne wondered incredulously

“This wasn’t exactly on the top of my social calendar.” Jared defended “I didn’t even know I was coming until a few days ago.”

“The ceremony is for the Semisos bond of –“

“Rachel Miner and Lord Misha Collins.” Genevieve cut in, interrupting Adrianne to add her own love of gossip. “It’s a big deal in the Court circles.  The Miner family screwed over so many noble families, and then the youngest daughter marries into Court?  And the Collins family, no less?  Heads are spinning!”

Jared shifted some more trying to get a better view of the ceremony when he spotted the women behind the bride.

“Whoa!” Jared exclaimed upon sighting them “Who are they?”

“Who, the bridesmaids?” Adrianne asked “Well the closest two are Lord Collins pallacas, but the far two… those are Lady Tal and Lady Sampson.”

“Why do they sound so familiar?” Jared pondered

“Well, they’re both from Court families.  That’s how they know Lord Collins so well. They all grew up together.” Adrianne explained “Plus, they’re pallacas and the Lord Collins’ best man is their Semisos.”

“And who’s the best man?”

“It’s Lord Je-“

“I now pronounce you wholefully bonded.” The minister announced, distracting Adrianne, leaving Jared without an answer “You may now kiss the bride.”

The next few hours went by in a bit of a blur for Jared.  It was full of champagne and laughing, cheers and drunken declarations, and lots and lots of joyful screaming which truthfully, hurt Jared’s ears.  But of course, he voiced none of his complaints.  While in the beginning he was perfectly content sitting at a table and letting Genevieve and Adrianne scour the party, he eventually forced himself to socialize – with the high class elitists he always tried to avoid – no matter how much it pained him to do so.

“How are you Jared?” Lord Benedict prompted, snatching a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you.”

“I am well, Lord Benedict.” Jared responded politely, pointedly ignoring the bothersome itch that had started below his knee, doing his absolute best to keep a good impression in front of a Noble Lord of the Court.

“Please, call me Rob.” The man laughed, his eyes twinkling. “Now where are those lovely ladies you walked in with?”

“Ah, they’re around here somewhere.” Jared smoothly replied, though he had no idea where Genevieve had disappeared to, he had kept hyper aware of Adrianne’s whereabouts all day.  She was by the bar, flirting half-heartedly with an unassuming Semisos who had no chance with a woman of her stature.  Jared wondered how he had even gotten in.

“That’s a pity.” Rob lamented “I haven’t spoken with Ms. Palicki in quite some time.  Although, Lady Sandra is around here somewhere. Her mother was asking about you earlier.”

Jared did his best to hold back a grimace, although he didn’t hide it very well.

“Don’t worry, Padalecki.” Lord Benedict assured “Court life isn’t for everyone.  No one thinks less of you for turning down Lady McCoy’s proposal.  However, I would encourage you to at least show some interest in one of the fine young women you escorted, if only for appearances sake.  Fate is a bitch, my young semisos. But society is a whore. You think you’re getting something out of it, until you realize you’re in too deep and you’re screwed.”

Jared was dumbstruck, blinking at the Lord in confusion.

“Best not to get involved too heavily with our society, Jared.” Lord Benedict said, winking at him as he began disappearing into the crowd. “But that doesn’t mean you should fight it so vigorously.”

Did he just? Jared was completely lost.

“What’s up with that look on your face?” Adrianne mumbled stumbling into Jared’s arms.  Great, she was drunk.

“Nothing.” Jared muttered, snatching the glass of scotch out of her hand and downing it, against her protests. “I’ve spoken to dozens of people and six Court members. My involvement here is done.  Let’s leave before something goes wrong.”

Adrianne nodded, before taking off back into the crowd of people. “I’ll go find Genevieve.”

“No, Adrianne!” Jared called, doing his best to keep track of her but losing his eye contact when a group of people shifted in his direction. Still, he followed in the direction he hoped she had taken, but only managed to lose his way even further.

Jared gave a startled grunt as he was tackled.

“Jared!” a voice whined

Jared sighed at the woman clinging to his side.  “There you are Genevieve.  Where is Adrianne?”

“She’s trying to catch me.” Genevieve whispered, dead serious. “But I won’t let her. She wants to take you from me.”

Great, now Genevieve was drunk as well.

“I think we should leave.” Jared asserted, turning towards the door.  He would leave Genevieve in the car and come back for Adrianne.  As he was walking away, he felt a pull on his arm.

“Jared!” a smooth voice purred from behind him. “It’s been so long since we’ve spoken.”

Jared had to bite back a scream of frustration. He was so tired of tonight.

“Good evening, Lady McCoy.” Jared managed. “You look lovely.  As do you, Sandy.”

Sandra, or Sandy, McCoy was another of Jared’s wannabe pallacas, and while the girl herself was nice and accommodating, her mother would not take a hint.

“Jared!” a voice cried over the party’s noise.

Jared breathed a sigh of relief. Adrianne.

“Ah, there is Ms. Palicki.” Jared exclaimed for the McCoy’s benefit. “We really must be going.  I must get Adrianne and Genevieve home.”

“Oh, but Jared,” Lady McCoy whined, her voice insanely high pitched though somehow still elegant. “We have only just found you!”

“I’m sorry, Lady McCoy.” Jared apologized, slowly backing up towards the door where he could already see Genevieve and Adrianne waiting for him. “But I’m afraid I am quite tired.”

“Nonsense!” she cried, reaching out to pull him back. “The night is still young!”

“I really must leave.” Jared said, his voice becoming defensive as he tried to, politely though assertively – though neither were really working out well for him - stumble out of her reach.

“I really must insist that –“

“Jared, look out!” Adrianne called from her spot at the top of the hall.

Jared’s breath left him as he was knocked heavily to the floor.  He hit his head on the hard ground, so his head was a bit fuzzy, but somewhere in his confusion some part of him was able to recognize the gold and silver haze that filled the room.

* * *

Time is such a relative concept.

It moves fast. It moves slow.  Sometimes it moves forwards and back and all sorts of directions.

When you’re asleep, a dream can last eight hours or it can last eight minutes, but in your head there’s no difference.

Jared felt like he was in a dream.  After being knocked to the floor, what followed happened in a blend of fast and slow, confusion at every corner.

One second he was on the floor, dazed and lost.

The next, he was rolled on his back, looking up at the most beautiful man he had ever laid eyes on.  The gold and silver light that radiated from his skin made his green eyes look amazing and Jared was trapped in the man’s gaze.

Time seemed to slow as he took in the sight of his assailant.  And then it suddenly sped up.  It seemed like no time at all that the captivating smile that had appeared on the man’s face turned quickly to one of horror.  Jared barely registered what was happening as the mysterious man leapt off the ground, and sprinted for the door, followed by a crowd of people calling after him, all in the time it took Jared to sit up.

The man was gone by the time Jared had been hauled to his feet by Adrianne and Sandy.

“That… that…”

“That was your Semisos.” Adrianne breathed in awe of the gold and silver light still faintly glowing from Jared’s skin.

“Who was that?” Jared spluttered, every fiber in his being telling him to run after the green eyed beauty.

Sandy too, was awestruck. “That was Jensen Ackles.”

* * *

* * *

“Jensen?” a voice called softly, knocking on the locked door of the master bedroom.

“We know you’re in there!” another voice commented

“Julie… Katie… just let him process it for a little.” Lauren insisted

“He needs time.” Michelle agreed, pushing them out of the way to be in front of the door herself.

“You need to talk to us, Jensen.” Lindsey shouted from the back of the group.

“We love you, baby.” Amy added. “Let us help.”

“We know you must be really confused right now.” Megalyn supplied, joining the rest of them at getting angry at being cut off

“But you can’t just stir in your emotions.  It’s not healthy.” Erin followed

“You’re not your father, Jensen!” Susie assured him

“You found your mate!”  Sara persuaded, trying to get her husband to see the wonder that had just happened

“You have us, and you found your mate!” Candice cheered “That’s cause for celebration, no matter what you used to think!”

“That’s enough!” a voice echoed through the hallways as three figures appeared near the doorway everyone was crowded.

“We’re gone five minutes, looking for the lost lamb over here, and everything goes to hell!” Alona berated them, she and Cindy trading annoyed glances. Cindy pushed Nina towards the group, making her stumble into Candice’s arms.  Candice blushed, knowing it was her fault she hadn’t been there for her new sister wife.  In her defense, there was a lot going on.

“I don’t understand.” Nina said, confusion written all across her face.  “Not only has Jensen found his mate, they glowed gold and silver.  That’s amazing!  Why is he not over the moon?”

All of the women winced.  Alona was biting back a look of frustration (and failing) while Cindy groaned, her hands covering her face in hopelessness.

“I don’t have time for this!” Alona cried, her voice showing no chance for argument. “Candice, take Nina to the parlor and explain to her how this house works. Neither of you get any rest until she stops bothering me with questions.”

“And the rest of you!” Cindy shouted, waving frantically to the end of the hallway.  “You all have your own rooms.  Get out of here!”

It was with panicked mumbles and angry whispers that all twelve women in front of the room fled back to their respective rooms in the mansion, leaving Alona and Cindy alone in the otherwise empty hallway.

They approached the doorway carefully.  After trading a meaningful look with each other, they decided on the best course of action to take.

“Jensen Ross Ackles!  You opened this damned door, right now!” Alona screamed, knocking rapidly on the door.

“Go away!” a muffled voice replied.

“You have about five seconds to open this door before we call Misha down here.” Cindy threated. “He’s been waiting at the front door for over an hour.”

“And I’m sure his new mate would accompany him.” Alona added

“You don’t want that do you?” Cindy asked, pausing to see the response.

It took about twenty seconds, but finally the girls heard a telltale click that signaled the door being unlocked.

As they walked into the room, shoulders straight and head held high – they had resolved to use intimidation to get the truth of what was happening – the first thing they noticed was that the room was clean.  Abnormal, because a room that fifteen people slept in (not always at once, but sometimes) is never clean.  The second thing they noticed was that their husband was standing in front of the largest open window in the house.  From there, Jensen could see over the top of his gardens, towards the mountains.  Watching him look so saddened, as he stared pensively at the outdoors, all the arguments that the girls had been building up shattered.  Quietly, Alona and Cindy entered the room and sat down on the edge of the large bed, gazing at Jensen’s back as he was faced away from them, still intensely fixated on his land.

“I know my life wasn’t perfect.” Jensen finally said, still ignoring his wives as they clung to his every word. “But I was happy.”

As what he meant finally clicked in their brains, both girls gaped at him in shock.

Jensen rarely ever spoke about his family.  He had been very young when everything went wrong.

“Josh was only a few years older than me, but Mackenzie was just a baby.” Jensen whispered. “I can’t remember much about them… other than that night.  Have I ever told you that story?”

Both girls shook their heads, they had heard the stories and his passive aggressive dismisses, but he had never told exactly what had happened the day he lost his family.

“Mom was in the kitchen making dinner while we played in the living room.  We were within hearing distance and Josh was almost nine, so she trusted us to make sure Mackenzie stayed in her crib.  Guess she thought we were safe.  Though it didn’t really matter how much supervision we had, I suppose.”

The room was silent when he paused, not even the whipping noise of the thrashing wind made its way into the anxiety filled room.

“Mom had just walked in to collect us because the food was ready, when a large man fell through the windows.  I didn’t really understand what was happening.” Jensen’s voice shook as tears started to form in his eyes.  “He took out a gun and shot Josh in the head. It just happened.  One second he was there and the next, he was slumped to the ground with a bullet in his brain.  There was a lot of screaming, most of it was my mother’s. I hid behind the couch, but I could see mom running at the man, trying to stop him from approaching the crib.  But then he shot her in the stomach and kept walking.  I didn’t see her die, but when the gunshot went off, blood splattered the inside of the crib.”

Alona and Cindy were at a loss at what to say.  They knew what had happened, but not to this extent and they had never known that he had been witness to it.

“I stayed cowering behind the couch. I was paralyzed, couldn’t breathe.  I kept waiting to hear his loud footsteps approaching.  I knew I was going to die, even if I was too young to really understand the true extent of what that meant.  But it never came.  The footsteps never came.” Jensen said, almost bitterly. “I didn’t know what to do, and we lived too far away from everyone that no one would have heard the shots go off. So I called Lady Collins, the woman mom always told me to get if I needed help.”

The girls finally understood why he and Misha were so close.

“The rest is kind of a blur. My mom had lost a lot of blood, but she made a recovery.  But all I knew was, my brother and sister were dead.”

Jensen’s voice broke as he spoke about his deceased siblings.

“And you want to know the worst part?” he asked, anger starting to fill his voice “My father didn’t even care.”

Jensen spun around and faced his wives so they could see the tears streaming down his face.

“He had been on a ‘business’ trip to the east coast.  Well I found out later, that ‘business’ was to go to some stupid seminar on how to find your Semisos!”

Both girls were starting to realize were the story was heading.

“When he got back he panicked up until the point he learned that he had one living heir and then he was back on his quest to find his mate. He told me once that it didn’t matter that they had died because as soon as he found his soulmate, nothing else would matter anymore.” Jensen spit out bitterly “I didn’t want that.  That… twisted sense of love.  What he felt wasn’t love.  It was denial.  It was a distraction.”

Alona and Cindy got off the bed and approached their husband, wrapping their arms around his trembling form.

“I don’t want a soulmate.” He gasped behind the tears “A soulmate makes everything else disappear. I don’t want all of this to disappear. It’ll make me change… and I… I… I don’t like change.”

“We know, baby.  We know.” The girls hushed, kissing his head and softly soothing him.  They had never known how deep Jensen’s dislike of soulmates ran, and it honestly scared them how emotional he was getting.

After a few minutes of solid tears, Jensen’s body stopped shaking and his breathing slowed, and the girls decided he was calm enough for actual conversation.

“I know you need some more time to adjust.” Alona started, her voice soothing and neutral.

“But you’ve got twelve more wives that need answers waiting anxiously in their rooms.” Cindy finished.

Jensen nodded, not trusting himself to speak yet.

“Eventually, we will need to make a public statement.” She added

“But before that, we should schedule a meeting with your mate.”  Alona carefully mentioned

“Who is my mate?” Jensen abruptly asked, sitting up straight from where he had been laying across the girls’ laps.

“I… don’t actually know.” Cindy admitted

“Me either.” Alona agreed “I was kind of focused on getting to you in all the commotion.  Did you not see who, yourself?”

“I could tell he was male.” Jensen shrugged, staring at the floor in feinted nonchalance. “He was much too big to be a woman.  Really, really tall and muscular.”

“Sounds nice.” Alona teased, bumping his shoulder and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek, eliciting a small smile from his tense face.

“Come on.”  Cindy nudged them both up, off the bed.  “I’m sure one of the others saw who your mystery man is.”

As Cindy and Alona dragged Jensen towards the hall, they opened the doors to find one of their sister wives poised to knock.

“Lauren!” Alona exclaimed, “We were about to go ask if anyone knew who Jensen’s mate was.”

“None of us saw him.” Cindy blushed.

Lauren’s face darkened.

“That’s the thing.” She said, her voice tense and edgy. “I saw.  And I think we may have a problem.”

“What do you mean?” Alona asked, concerned, as Lauren leaned in closer and began to whisper in her ear.

Jensen and Cindy watched with growing anxiety as, with each piece of information, Alona’s face rapidly changed from excitement to anger.

“Well.” Alona said, tersely “You are most certainly correct.  We have quite the predicament on our hands.”

“What’s wrong?” Jensen asked, fear gripping his chest painfully

Alona spun around to face him, meeting his intensely burning eyes. “Do you trust me?”

Jensen nodded with vigor. “Of course.”

“Good.  Then trust that I’ll have everything handled.” Alona demanded. “There is a matter Cindy and I must address immediately.  It cannot wait until morning.  We must go, but we’ll be back by dawn. Promise.”

* * *

* * *

The commotion of the people around him – shouting and pacing and generally being unhelpful – went completely unnoticed by Jared.  While his parents were loudly discussing wedding plans, and his sister’s fan girling was being unsuccessfully quieted by the Pallacas, all Jared could do was sit on the couch, motionless, as images of swirling gold and silver light and bright green eyes flashed continuously through his mind’s eye.

“Hey! Hey! Will everyone just fucking shut up for a few minutes?” Jeff shouted from the archway to the living room.

“Jeff, language!!” Sharon scolded him

Jeff rolled his eyes at his mother.

“I’m sorry!” he said calmly “But really, we do have a lot to discuss. Sooner, rather than later.”

“What’s there to discuss?” Gerald barked “Jared’s finally getting married!”

“Yeah, but think about all of this!  No!” He interrupted, stopping his parent’s interjections. “Really stop and think about this.  Jared hasn’t said one word since the party!”

“He’s excited!” Megan cheered

“No, he’s in shock.” Jeff snapped.  “I’m not sure it’s actually occurred to Jared, let alone any of you, but his mate is Jensen Ackles!”

“What’s your point?” Gerald demanded

“What’s my point?” Jeff nearly laughed. “Think about it! His mate is Jensen Ackles.  THE. Jensen. Ackles.  The only man in all of known history to –“

All heads spun to the front of the house as an echoing THUMP was heard against the front door.

“Stay here.” Jeff said pointedly to his sister, heading briskly to the door with his parents at his heels.

Taking a deep breath before opening the door, Jeff wondered who it would be: a concerned friend, a pesky Pallaca wannabe, or worse… the press.  He was of coursed surprised to see – though he really shouldn’t have been – two women, hair pulled back and dressed sharply with matching briefcases in hand.

“Hello,” the tall brunette greeted curtly “My name is Cindy Sampson.  This is my associate, Alona Tal.”

And with an intimidating smirk that sent chills down Jeff’s back, the blonde continued: “We’re attorneys of the Lord Ackles, here to speak with Jared Padalecki.  May we please come in?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment or kudos to let me know what you think!
> 
>  
> 
> ~~This is a list of characters (found in this and the previous chapter) and their roles in the society. (And their roles on the show)  
> Semisos: A male or female who has a soulmate currently walking the earth.  
> Pallaca: A male or female who does not have a soulmate currently walking the earth and instead of selecting a partner, is usually married off to a Semisos as a sort of secondary wife.
> 
> Jensen Ackles (Dean): Semisos -- Soulmate to Jared Padalecki, married to 14 pallacas, and is Lord to many Noble Houses  
> Jared Padalecki (Sam): Semisos -- Soulmate to Jensen Ackles  
> Gerald Padalecki: Semisos -- Jared's father  
> Sharon Padalecki: Semisos -- Jared's mother  
> Megan Padalecki: Pallaca -- Jared's sister  
> Jeff Padalecki: Semisos -- Jared's brother  
> Donna Ackles: Pallaca -- Jensen's mother and wife to the late Alan Ackles  
> Misha Collins (Castiel): Semisos -- Jensen's best friend, soulmate to Rachel Miner, and Lord of a Noble House  
> Rachel Miner (Meg 2.0): Semisos -- Misha's soulmate and murderer of Felicia's brother  
> Erica Carroll (Hannah): Pallaca -- Misha's first wife  
> Wynn Everett (Amelia Novak): Pallaca -- Misha's second wife  
> Felicia Day (Charlie): Semisos -- Close friend of Jensen's and Lady of a Noble House  
> Rob Benedict (Chuck): Semisos -- Lord of a Noble House  
> Adrianne Palicki (Jess): Pallaca -- Jared's best friend  
> Genevieve Cortese (Ruby 2.0): Pallaca -- One of Jared's suitors  
> Regina Cortese: Semisos -- Genevieve's mother  
> Sandra McCoy (Cross Road Demon): Pallaca -- One of Jared's suitors, heir to one of the Noble Houses  
> Lady McCoy: Semisos -- Sandy's mother and Lady of a Noble House
> 
> List of Jensen's Pallacas--  
> Alona Tal (Jo)-- Jensen's first wife and Lady of a Noble House  
> Cindy Sampson (Lisa)-- Jensen's second wife and Lady of a Noble House  
> Julie McNiven (Anna)-- Jensen's third wife and Lady of a Noble House  
> Katie Cassidy (Ruby 1.0)-- Jensen's fourth wife and Lady of a Noble House  
> Lauren Cohan (Bella)-- Jensen's fifth wife and Lady of a Noble House  
> Michelle Borth (Karmen)-- Jensen's sixth wife and Lady of a Noble House  
> Lindsey McKeon (Tessa)-- Jensen's seventh wife and Lady of a Noble House  
> Amy Gumenick (Mary)-- Jensen's eighth wife  
> Megalyn Echikunwoke (Cassie)-- Jensen's ninth wife  
> Erin Karpluk (Robin)-- Jensen's tenth wife  
> Susie Abromeit (Suzy)-- Jensen's eleventh wife and Lady of a Noble House  
> Sara Canning (Lydia on SpN and Jenna on TVD) -- Jensen's twelve wife  
> Candice Accola (Amanda on SpN and Caroline on TVD) -- Jensen's thirteenth wife  
> Nina Dobrev (Elena on TVD)-- Jensen's fourteenth wife


	3. One Blonde and A Brunette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls have their first confrontation with their husband's mate... and Jared has to learn to play nice.

The entire group sitting in the front parlor of the Padalecki house jumped as Gerald Padalecki rushed into the room shouting out commands.

“Isabella!” he barked, grabbing the attention of one of the women sitting next to his daughter.

“What?” she pitched. His first pallaca getting nervous at the anxiety in her husband’s voice. “What’s wrong?”

“All of you, go upstairs and wait for me to call you down.  No, excuses Megan! Go!” He breathed out in a rush, paranoia causing him to look towards the direction of the door every few seconds. “Not you Jared! Certainly, not you.”

Jared’s mind was finally coming back to him.  The haziness of his brain clearing to the panic visibly evident in his father’s tone.  What was happening?

The sound of footsteps faded as the girls went to the next story of the house, just in time for the clicking of heels to echo around the corner as the two fearsome women strode into the house.

The women – one blonde, the other brunette – stopped before entering the parlor, instead choosing to hover under the archway and observe Jared at his position perched on the couch.  Their intense, judgmental eyes pierced him, unnerving him till the point where he started to fidget.  They slid into the room with ease, as if already familiar with every inch of the place. Though Jared would later berate himself for it, he could not help but be a bit envious of the confident air that seemed to radiate from the women’s every being.

Both women sat on the couch directly opposite of Jared – completely ignoring him, as well as his parents, who took their places next to him, and his brother, who chose to stand behind him – and began to pull out various different papers from their briefcases, though it seemed abundantly clear that none of his family would get to actually see those papers until the women deliberately allowed the information to them.  Finally, as the last few papers were pulled out and set face out down into their laps, the brunette cleared her throat, gathering the instant attention of everyone in the room. And once again, Jared could not help but be jealous.

“Jared Padalecki?” she inquired, though it seemed a bit redundant. For who else would he be if they had been brought to him?

“Uh, yes.” Jared answered confused.  He was racking his brain trying to figure out who the women were.  He didn’t seem to recognize either of them, but surely they couldn’t be strangers or the press. His parent’s wouldn’t have let them in if they had been.

“Do you know who we are?” the blonde quizzed him, as if he would be an idiot if he didn’t know.

“Any particular reason why I should?” he asked sarcastically, earning a pinch on the neck from his brother.

“Not unless you’ve been living under a rock.” The blonde bite out with a smile.

“Excuse me?” Jared demanded angrily

“No.” The brunette assured him, shooting a glare at the other woman. “What my associate means, is no.  So let us introduce ourselves.  My name is Cindy Sampson, and this is Alona Tal.”

There was a small spark in the back of Jared’s mind.  Those names sounded incredibly familiar, but for the life of him, he just couldn’t remember why.

Seeing that Jared still wasn’t connecting the dots, Alona rolled her eyes.

“You see Jared,” Cindy began, her tone serious and authentic “Alona and I have a bit of a problem.”

His confusion grew.

“I’m afraid you’ve made quite the name for yourself.” Alona said, her voice calm and a bit sarcastic, but Jared was sure: if looks could kill, he’d fear for his life.

“What do you mean?” he stuttered, a bit intimidated by the blonde

“You have a bit of a reputation, Jared.” Cindy said gently, though there was a bit of fire in her eyes as well. “And I’m afraid that it concerns us quite a bit.”

Neither women wanting to spell it out for him, Cindy and Alona simply waited for Jared to realize what they meant.  And though it took him a bit longer than he’d like to admit, staring into the expecting eyes of the women, Jared finally recognized where he knew them from.

He had seen them at the wedding.  They were the bridesmaids.  Their names matched the ones Adrianne had mentioned.  They were married to the best man. And he…. He had bumped into the best man at the reception when the world went gold and silver.  His name was Jensen Ackles. Lord Jensen Ackles. The guy from Megan’s TV show… was his mate.  His mate was Lord Jensen Ackles, the only person on Earth to have 14 pallacas. To have 14 wives!

The whole room watched as piece by piece, Jared’s composure shattered.

“No!” he shouted “No, it is not true!  Jensen Ackles cannot be my mate!  He just can’t be! Not with 14 wives! Not with… not with you!”

Cindy and Alona visibly reeled from Jared’s verbal attack. Cindy was doing her best to stop Alona from physically confronting Jared, though it seemed like she was having her own internal battle about it as well.

“Jared, we… we… good God, Alona! Sit down!” Cindy snapped at her sister wife, unable to simultaneously battle her and talk Jared down.

“If you think you were our first choice as our husband’s mate, you are sorely mistaken.”  Cindy whispered darkly.  “We are happy! All of us are happy exactly the way things are.  Jensen especially has never wanted to find his mate. So having some defective semisos who thinks he’s better than the rest of us come in and try and take the man we love away from us is not exactly a dream come true!”

Silence seemed to fill the room.  Alona, satisfied with her sister’s assertion, sat back down with a small smile on her face. Jared was stunned, his thoughts swirling.  It was a shame, but most of what Cindy had just ranted about went completely over his head. He couldn’t get over the one thing.

“He’s never wanted to find his mate?” he gasped, unable to comprehend the concept.

“Because that’s what he got from all that.” Alona groaned, her head falling in her hands

“He’s never wanted a mate? That’s insane!” he cried, eyes wildly searching to find the joke in their words

“I’d watch my tongue if I were you.” Alona growled warningly

“A mate makes your life complete! They make everything else in your life disappear because they’re everything you need to be completely and utterly happy.  What kind of messed up person wouldn’t want that?” Jared screamed in hysterics

“That is it!” Alona screeched, surging to her feet and storming towards Jared’s direction

“Alona!” Cindy shouted, but to her surprise, instead of attacking Jared like she would have thought, Alona only stormed passed him, striding purposefully out the door.

Cindy sat stunned on the couch, watching Alona’s retreating back before jumping into action.

“Pardon me for a moment.” Cindy said hurriedly to Jared and his family, before trailing hastily after her.

* * *

 

Jared winced as his brother thumped him over the head.

“What’s wrong with you!?” his mother screeched at him, moving around to grab his face in her hands and stare at him crazy eyed

“What did I do?” Jared growled defensively, rubbing the back of his head.  Despite the fact that his head stung, he ignored his mom and continued to glare at the empty corridor where he could hear faint whispers of the girl’s conversation.

“Just because you are a Semisos doesn’t mean you can treat Pallacas any less!” she barked, hitting his head as she pulled back

“It’s not that they’re Pallacas, it’s that they’re MY mate’s pallacas.” Jared cried frustratingly “Why can’t any of you understand that?  People are meant to have one person they spend their life with.  Having multiple spouses is unnatural!”

“Watch your tongue, young man!” his father demanded

“Just because you don’t like something, doesn’t make it unnatural, Jared!” Jeff stressed, wishing he could get his brother to understand. “It’s the way our society works and you fighting it won’t make it any different.  It’ll just make it harder on you and your mate.”

“Please!” Jared begged, desperate for one of them to take his side. “You have to understand that even if that’s true. Even if having multiple spouses is normal, I don’t want that! I’ve never wanted that, and I’m sorry! I’m sorry I’m not what you wanted me to be, but I can’t change who I am for you!”

Jeff felt horrible standing in front of his brother, trying to force him to do something he didn’t want to do.  But even Jared’s tears couldn’t change the reality of the situation.  It was no longer in Jeff’s control to help his brother.  It wasn’t even in their parent’s control.  It was all up to Jared now, to make the best of what fate had given him.

“Jared, I’m sorry.” His older brother apologized, the mood of the room rapidly changing from angry to sullen. “If I could magically give you everything you wanted, I would… but I can’t.  I can’t, Mom can’t, Dad can’t…. even those two girls out there can’t.  The sad fact of the truth is that your soulmate already has many people he loves in his life.  But Jared, those girls are offering a chance for you to be a part of that life!”

Jared’s tears kept falling, but his focus was still intensely focused on his brother.

“Now I know this isn’t exactly what you wanted, but there’s nothing in life that is perfect or that comes without effort and hard work.” Jeff laid out for him truthfully.  “So you have two choices.  You can either go with those women to meet the man you’ve waited your whole life for and try to make a balanced life with him…. Or can stay here, deny your chance of happiness, and live the rest of your life bitter and resentful.  So what are you going do?”

* * *

 

“Alona!”

“No!” the blonde screamed, her voice shaking from her spot slumped on the front porch “Cindy, I… I…. We can’t bring him home to Jensen! Not him! Not a man like him! We just can’t!”

“Alona, please! It’s our responsibility to…” Cindy started to argue before she finally saw the look on her sister’s face. “Oh, Honey… you’re crying!  You never cry!”

“Shut up.” Alona sighed, angrily wiping the tear streaks from her face.

“You know we have to bring him back.” Cindy said gently, wrapping her arms around Alona as she sat beside her.

Alona turned to look at her in stubbornness.

“To what?” Alona demanded “To Jensen? To a marriage full of women he despises?  Did you see the way that man looked at us? He hates us!  And he’ll hate everything about his new life with Jensen! You know that!”

“I know this wasn’t exactly what any of us wanted, but –“

“But what?” Alona demanded. “We both know that the second we bring that sad excuse of a Semisos into our home, EVERYONE will become miserable!  He’s going to hate everything and everyone around him and he’s going to… he’s going to… to… change things, Cindy!  He’s going to change everything!  He’s going to do everything that Jensen has been so afraid of all his life! And I just… I can’t do that to him!”

Cindy sighed, taking a long moment to pull her sister close to her side in a tight hold.  Her heart breaking as she felt Alona’s body shake.

“I know… I know…” she whispered soothingly, trying to strengthen her resolve to not just grab Alona and make a mad dash to the car.

They sat there in silence for a moment, both women trying to forget about the difficult situation lying barely twenty feet away.

“You’re going to make us go back in there aren’t you?” Alona bemoaned, comfortably nudging her nose against Cindy’s neck.

“I’m sorry, Honey.”  Cindy muttered against her hair.

“Yeah….” Alona conceded, her body slumping in defeat.

“But you know what?” Cindy started to joke “Maybe he’ll hate it so much, he’ll leave!”

Alona snorted in a bitter laugh. “Maybe.”

“But we do have to give him a chance.”

“I know.” Alona said sadly.

Slowly, they made their way to their feet.

“You okay?” Cindy asked, making Alona meet her eyes.

“Yeah.” Alona said, nodding softly.

Gently, Cindy moved her hands up Alona’s shoulders to her face and wiped the tears from her eyes, brushing a few loose strands of blonde hair behind her ear. Leaning in carefully, Cindy pressed her lips to Alona’s in a brief kiss.

“Jared can do whatever the Hell he pleases,” Cindy explained softly, “But there is nothing he could ever do that would change anything.  I love you and Jensen loves you, and that will never change.  Okay?”

Alona gave a small smile, “Okay.”

Cindy pressed another kiss to her forehead before taking a step back, towards the front door.

“Now I’m going to go back in there and finish talking to the Padalecki’s, and you’re going to go back to the limousine.”

“But–“

“No but’s,” Cindy interrupted “Go sit in the front seat with DJ and close the screen.  There’s no reason for us both to have to sit in the back right now.”

For a second, it looked as if Alona would protest again until she took another glance into the house and nodded in consent.

“Alright.” Alona conceded, moving towards the sleek black limo parked in the bend of the driveway.  “Good luck.”

* * *

 

Cindy could tell there was a heated argument going on in the living room.  The closer she got to the living room, the louder the voices got.

“—So what are you going to do?” Jeff demanded of Jared.

Cindy stopped in the archway of the room, absorbing the silence and tension radiating from the long haired man sitting on the couch.  She had heard only part of the conversation, but considering the part she had eavesdropped on her way through the hallway, she too was anxiously awaiting Jared’s answer.

“Okay.”

Everyone in the room seemed almost startled at Jared’s quietly sudden answer.

“Okay?” Jeff asked, confirming what he was surprised to hear from his brother.

“Yeah,” Jared nodded, a begrudging look on his face. “I’ll go the manor.  I’ll meet Ackles and the… the girls. I’ll… I’ll go and I’ll be civil. Promise.”

“Well that saves us another awkward conversation.”

Jared and the rest of his family jumped at the voice unexpectedly behind them.

“Lady Sampson!” Sharon cried, lowering her eyes in respect

“Jared?” Cindy prompted him, expecting him to actively say something to her.

“I’ll go with you.” He muttered, staring at his feet.

“And you’ll be polite to the rest of the family?” She asked.

“Yes.” Jared answered, sitting back in the couch with a huff.

“Alright.” Cindy hummed, sadly resigned to the fact that Jared would be living with them. “Ready to go then?”

“What? Now?” Jared gasped, spinning around on the couch and meeting Cindy’s gaze.

“I think it would be easiest on everyone to not delay the inevitable.” Cindy spoke honestly

“But… but….” Jared was speechless at the abruptness of the change. “What about all my stuff?”

“We can have all of your personal belongings delivered to the Manor at a later date.” Cindy explained “For now, the Manor has everything you could need.”

Jared couldn’t help but turn to his family, pleading for one of them to intervene.

“Fantastic!” Gerald cheered, destroying Jared’s hope for a rescue.

“Oh, Lady Sampson!” Jeff called

“Please, call me Cindy.” She smiled

“It’s a bit off topic from this whole mess, but I would love to talk to you a bit about the last Court session.”

“Oh, yes!  It was quite….”

Jared tuned out of this part of the conversation.  He barely registered the conversation ending.  His brain didn’t really comprehend signing some of the papers the brunette put in front of him, or remember being ushered out of the house and into the limo.  It didn’t even occur to him to wonder where Lady Tal had disappeared to.  All that had been running through his brain – up to the moment the limo pulled up to the gigantic Manor that he wouldn’t get to marvel at until later – was how much he was going to hate this new life.  On a cycle, was a plan on how he would get through the next few months.  Jensen Ackles, he figured, would be no different from any other Semisos.  As his soulmate, Jensen would have to love him more than the other women.  Therefore, once Ackles realized how much he loved Jared, all Jared would have to do was ask him to get rid of the pesky wives and he would!

Life would work itself out.  Of that, Jared was sure.

* * *

 

Cindy slammed the door of the limo in frustration, her hands immediately coming up to massage her temples.  Oh there had been no argument in the car to make her so upset… no screaming or yelling or crying.  There had been nothing.  Jared had made no sound whatsoever on the ride to the Manor. Not once had he even glanced in her direction, instead choosing to stare blankly into the starry night sky – it was much too late at night to be worrying about such issues as this – but it didn’t seem to her that he was registering anything he was looking at. Cindy wouldn’t even try to contemplate what was running through his brain.

She was glad she had done so, but Cindy couldn’t help but be a bit envious of Alona’s trip back home.

“Oh my God, that’s hilarious!” Alona laughed as her head appeared out of the car.

“That’s what I said!” DJ agreed, running towards the other side of the car to help Alona the rest of the way out. “But no one else laughed then!”

DJ Qualls was one of the Manor’s many staff.  He was a trusted member of the family, and acted as a chauffeur on special occasions but was normally the head gardener and was in charge of up keeping the monstrosity of a backyard, making him one of Jensen’s favorite people.  Though most of the servants lived in the servants quarters in the east wing of the second floor, DJ and his Semisos, Sara Smyth, who was Head of Housekeeping, were allowed to live in a small cabin on the edge of the property.

Cindy’s attention stayed focused on Alona, faintly recognizing Jared finally climbing out of the limo, though he barely looked at the impressive size and beauty of the estate, choosing to look at the ground instead.

“You and Sara must join us in the dining hall one of these days for dinner!” Alona admonished to the gangly man closing the door behind her.  “Both of you spend too much time locked away in that little house of yours!”

“You’re right! You’re right.” He smiled raising his hands in defeat, walking back around the limo, ready to hop back into the driver’s seat. “Later this week then. On the condition that you and Jensen come over to ours sometime soon, of course.”

“Looking forward to it!” Alona called out as the limo pulled away.

Alona smiled at Cindy as she approached, reaching for her hands and squeezing comfortably.

“Thank you.” Alona said affectionately “I needed that.”

“Good.” Cindy gave her a tired smile

“Tomorrow,” Alona promised “You, me, and Jensen are going horseback riding.  Just the three of us. No annoying new wives, no jealous mates… just three hours of leisurely trotting around the property.”

“I’d like that.” She grinned appreciating the gesture.

“Good.” Alona’s smile growing bigger. “Now let me deal with him for a while.”

“Cindy! Alona!” a voice cried from the entrance of the house.

Jared finally seemed to respond to the outside world when he watched two girls, a red head and another blonde, rush out of the Manor and huddle around Alona and Cindy, whispering feverously in their ears.

“He did what??” Alona screeched before being shushed by the other women.

Jared tried to listen in more on the conversation, but clearly they were all well practiced in the art of quiet gossiping.

“Now of all times!” Cindy groaned as the four separated, shooting a glance in Jared’s direction.

“I’m going to kill that stupid son of a bitch!” Alona cursed, pacing in frustration.

Jared was scared to death that it was him her anger was directed at.

“Jared!” Alona snapped, making him jump in his nervousness.

“Uhh…. Yes?”

“Something…. Something’s come up that Cindy and I have to deal with.” Alona tried to explain, her hands clenching and unclenching in irritation.  “So Julie and Katie are going to help you settle in tonight. Okay? Okay.”

Jared was left gaping as Alona and Cindy sprinted back into the house.

Confused and shocked, Jared looked at the two remaining women, nervously shifting from foot to foot.  While Cindy and Alona had always acted a bit distant, they had also interacted with him while on some level begrudgingly accepting him.  These two, however were shooting him glares from underneath their bangs.

Back straight and head held high so he could tower over them, Jared made his way closer to the girls.

“Well,” Katie drawled, taking a step forward and pulling the ginger with her. “We might as well get this over with.”

Julie rolled her eyes, huffing and crossing her arms. “Might as well.”

“Well…. Jared.” Katie began exasperatingly “I’m Lady Katie Cassidy.  You can call me Katie… never Kate… never Kat. This is Lady Julie McNiven. You can call her Julie… never Julia… never Jules.  Julie was Jensen’s third wife.  I was his fourth.  We married him a day apart, and are in charge of the Estate when Jensen, Alona, and Cindy aren’t here.”

“Nice to know?” Jared said, not knowing how to respond.

With a small frown Julie added, “They travel a lot.”

“Ok.” Jared nodded, averting his eyes to the ground again, unwilling to continue meeting their gazes.

“Great!” Julie exclaimed, turning around in vexation and starting to stalk back towards the house, closely followed by Katie. “Now he won’t even look at us!”

“Relax, Julie.” Katie admonished, waving her hand at him from behind. “Come along, newbie. We’re going to bed in an hour.  So unless you want to sleep outside….”

Jared speed walked until he was only a few paces behind them.

“I was coming.” He snapped

He kept his gaze locked on the back of the heads walking in front of him, ignoring the majestic interior of the Manor.

“Candice!” Julie called out when they reached the massive living room parlor.

“Is everything okay?” Candice called from the couch where she and Nina had set up a game of cards. “Alona and Cindy just raced up the stairs in a panic.  Did they just get the news?”

“Is this about the call?” Nina asked, laying her cards face up on the table

Katie shook her head in amusement while Julie rolled her eyes in frustration.

“Yes, this about the call, Nina!” Julie snapped, stalking over the table and pointedly turning over the cards Nina had placed upward for her opponent to see.  “What else would it be about?  Candice, please take Nina upstairs, I just can’t… not right now.”

“Of course.” Candice groaned, grabbing Nina’s arm and trying to drag her towards the back staircase that led to the third floor with all the official household’s bedrooms.

“Oh and Candice,” Katie added “On your way to your rooms, can you stop by Michelle’s chambers and remind her she’s picking up the Queen in the morning at 7?”

“The Queen?” Nina asked a bit too loudly

“Our nickname for Jensen’s mother.” Candice explained, turning to answer Katie. “Sure, no problem.”

“Oh!” Julie exclaimed “And drop by Megalyn’s chambers and ask her to turn down her music’s volume a bit.  She’s about to have a new neighbor below her.”

All eyes, turned to Jared who was staring at them with a loss at what to do.

“Right…” Candice nodded, ushering Nina out of the room. “G’night, Katie. Night, Julie.”

“Good night, Candice. Nina.” Julie called to their backs

“See you at breakfast!” Katie mentioned

“Come on newbie.” Julie said, exiting to the main hall and beginning to climb the elegant staircase. “Your room is on the second floor.”

“Your guest room consists of an entrance living room with couches, tables, chairs, and a television.” Katie explained as they turned to the left at the top of the stairs.

“There are two doors branching off of the living room.” Julie commented, Jared only half listening as they seemed to walk down a series of endless hallways. “The door on your left will lead to the bedroom, which has a bathroom on the right.”

“Also on the right, next to the bathroom, is a walk in closet.”

“Through the right door of the living room is an empty room which we’ll fill with whatever you’d like later.”

“It’s more of a personalizing room.” Katie explained as they took a right turn at the end of one of the halls. “We each design it differently.”

“Like…. Megalyn has a dancing studio.” Julie pointed out “And Lauren has a recording booth for her music.”

“Michelle and Erin have painting studios.” Katie began listing “Amy has a photography studio set up, and Lindsey has some kind of mini band room full of instruments!”

“Susie does yoga.”

“Yeah, Susie has a yoga room.” Katie agreed, “Oh and Sara’s room is super high tech.”

“Full of computers none of us know how to use!” Julie snorted

“Candice put in a mini kitchen.” Katie lamented

“Her food isn’t very good.” Julie laughed with her “Nothing compared to Richard’s!”

“He’s our Head Chef.” Katie explained “Everything he makes is the best!”

“But his desserts are to die for.” Julie moaned, remembering his latest brownies and ice cream masterpiece.

“Nina still hasn’t picked out anything yet.” Katie mentioned, returning to the previous topic

“Which is to be expected.” Julie retorted “She’s only been here a few weeks.”

Katie nodded her assent. “We really are too hard on her.”

“Yeah…” Julie agreed “But it’s part of being the new wife.”

Katie hummed.  “Julie and I have dojo’s in our spare rooms.”

“It’s very relaxing.”

“Though we spend most of our time in the gymnasium on the ground floor.” Katie informed him

“What about Alona and Cindy?” Jared commandingly

The girls exchanged glances, wondering what was running through his arrogant head.

“Well Alona and Cindy don’t really have a lot of time for hobbies.” Julie tried to explain

“Jensen might be the face of everything, and he does do quite a lot around here…”

“But Alona and Cindy really run the place.”

“They’re never controlling or anything.”  Katie hastily explained “Or only when things get really out of hand…”

“But they essentially run the entire household, making sure everything goes according to plan.”

“Food, gardening, livestock, outside properties…”

“Staff, media, meetings, relationships with the public, relationships with the other girls, Jensen’s personal problems…” Julie continued “This place wouldn’t function without them.”

Though he stayed he stayed quiet, Jared’s only thought was: ‘I’ll learn that.  There’ll be no need for them then.’

“Anyway,” Katie started “Back to your original question… they’ve turned their extra rooms into a study to hold all their paperwork from Court.  They’re very active members.”

“Actually, they’ve basically turned their entire apartment into a study: spare room, living room, bedroom.”

“Where do they sleep?” Jared asked

“Well their rooms aren’t in a hallway like ours are.” Katie explained “They have adjoining rooms off of Jensen’s main chamber.  They spend most of their nights in his bed.”

“Both of them?” he questioned

“Both of them.” Both girls confirmed

“Doesn’t that bother you?” he demanded, his feelings getting the best of him

“Why would it?” Katie wondered

“Because…. They get to spend more time with him than you do!” he snapped “It’s obvious they monopolize his time! It’s not fair!”

“That’s just not how we see it.” Julie snapped back defensively “Alona and Cindy were here first.  They do the most around the house, and they obviously deal with Jensen’s emotional needs far better than any of us do.”

“Plus, well…” Katie started to add “Julie and I both came only a year later than Cindy and Alona.”

“Alona was his very first.” Julie interrupted “But Cindy joined the family the next day.”

“Yeah,” Katie recovered from the interruption “It became quite clear when Julie and I first married Jensen – and with every other wife after, I suppose – that this wasn’t just a game for Jensen.”

“He wasn’t just some rich, spoiled brat who couldn’t be satisfied with one women.”

“He truly wanted to love us all.” Katie smiled at the memory of her wedding day “But he never loved any of us as much as he loved those two.”

Jared’s jealousy was growing with each word.

“We all just kind of accepted that they were the Alpha Wives.” Julie giggled at the nickname the rest of them had given the girls

At last – though there was still more hallway to venture forth to – the girls stopped in front of an elegant mahogany door, with gold trimmings around the sides and the room number displayed on the front.

“This is your room.” Katie exclaimed “Room 9B-W.”

“The whole Manor is labeled like a hotel.” Julie elaborated “It makes it so much easier to navigate the place.  The ninth room on the second floor in the West Wing.”

“We’ll leave you here.” Katie said, winding down the conversation “If you need us, I’m in room 2C and Julie’s in 1C.”

“I’m not sure when you’ll meet Jensen, but for now, if you need Alona or Cindy, don’t go through Jensen’s front doors.  Alona and Cindy have a back door. They’re room 2D.” Julie rambled

“Hopefully you won’t have to leave your room ‘till morning though.” Katie ambled “Oh, and don’t feel like you have to, but it’s become tradition in the family to have certain meals together.”

“We have family breakfast on Sundays and Wednesdays.” Julie was listing “And family dinner on Mondays and Fridays.”

“Lunches are just too unpredictable to plan.” Katie joked

“Tomorrow’s Sunday….”

“So if you feel like you have to join us…” Katie offered, hoping that he wouldn’t “Be in the dining hall at 8:30.”

“Just head to the first floor.” Julie directed him “We’ll have someone there to escort you to the hall.”

“And if you choose not to come, a maid will knock on your door at 11 if the “Do Not Disturb Sign” isn’t hung on your handle.”

“We’re not joking.” Julie smirked, beginning to back away from him

“Wait!” Jared barked at their retreating forms

“What?” Katie whined,  only wanting to go to bed

“What was so important that Alona and Cindy ran off for?” He demanded “Something about a call?”

The girls exchanged glances, before finally sighing and glaring at him from beneath their hair.

“We’re tired.” Katie drawled

“We’ll explain tomorrow.” Julie sighed “Good night, Jared.”

“Night, newbie!” Katie flapped her hand in a half assed wave, as they turned back the way they came and soon disappeared from sight when they turned the corner.

‘They obviously take some getting used to…’ Jared thought to himself, hand on the door knob ‘But I won’t have to soon enough.”

And with that final thought, he twisted the knob on the door and stepped into his new home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Hope you liked it! Let me know what you think!~
> 
>  
> 
> New Characters Introduced This Chapter (All other characters listed at the end of chapter 2)
> 
> Isabella Padalecki (OC): Jared's father's first Pallaca  
> DJ Qualls (Garth): Trusted friend of the Ackles family, Head Gardener of the Manor Estate  
> Sara Smyth (Bess): Head of Housekeeping for the Manor and DJ's Semisos  
> Richard Speight Jr. (Gabriel): Head Chef of the Manor

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure what was confusing or not, so please comment and let me know. I'm considering listing all the character's names and their roles in the society, separately. Thoughts?


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